


walk down our aisles first

by musketrois (B_kate)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Actor Harry, Actor Louis, Alternate Universe, Boys Kissing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Ficlet, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Short, Short & Sweet, fake engagement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 20:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13597968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_kate/pseuds/musketrois
Summary: The ridiculous part of the whole situation was that Louis wished the proposal was real. He’d only known the man in front of him a handful of hours, but he was already picturing a long future with him.orLouis and Harry meet while filming a jewelry commercial.





	walk down our aisles first

**Author's Note:**

> If you've been to the National Gallery in London recently, please forgive me if what's in Room 43 when I was there has been switched out. :)
> 
> Thank you to the mods who have organized this fest! My fics have always been shorter than the fandom average and this is a great way for others like me to show what we can do.
> 
> Giant thank you to [Nic](http://louandhazaf.tumblr.com/) for being a wonderful beta!

To say Louis was excited would be an understatement. 

He couldn’t sit still in his makeup chair, because he was ecstatic about the commercial he was shooting that day.

Louis’ acting career thus far had been low-budget commercials and productions Off West End. He’s loved acting ever since his first feel of the stage lights as Danny Zuko at the end of Year 12. At the age of 25, he felt as if this small jewelry commercial was the most meaningful job he had booked.

It was a typical advert for a jewelry franchise that specializes in engagement rings, but the center of this ad was a gay couple. As far as Louis was aware, it was the first LGBT+ themed engagement commercial in the UK, and in his opinion, it was way past time to put a stop to the heteronormativity found in the jewelry industry. Straight couples were not the only ones who bought their loved ones jewelry. The world would not combust if this was reflected in advertisements. He had trouble understanding why different types of love had no media presence. 

He’s had dreams of getting married and having a family. It was a dream come true to represent diversity--someone like him-- in a commercial?

The stylists fluttering around him finished swirling his hair into a quiff and brushed powder over his face one last time before declaring him ready for the camera.

An assistant led him to his mark for the first shot of the day. It was a beautiful spring morning and the commercial crew had taken over Trafalgar Square. 

Louis was taking a final glance at his script when he felt the presence of another person beside him. When he finally glanced up, he was met with a bright, dimpled smile. 

“Hello, I’m Harry. I think you’re my co-star?”

Harry Styles was stood in front of him. Louis had to consciously stop himself from gaping at the gorgeous man expectantly holding his hand out for a handshake. Though London had a huge theater scene, the community was smaller than it seemed. He and Harry ran in the same circles and had mutual friends, but had never actually met. His stage manager and friend Niall had even tried convincing him on several occasions that Louis and Harry should get together.

Louis pulled himself together enough to shake Harry’s hand. “Nice to meet you, mate. I’m Louis. ‘ve heard great things about your recent performance in _Of Mice and Men_.”

Harry’s dimples grew deeper as he beamed over Louis’ compliment.

“I’m glad to finally work with you. Liam and Niall constantly talk about you,” Harry said.

Louis was not a modest person. Despite his tendency to surround himself in the attention of others, knowing that his friends had spoke about him to a particularly beautiful man brought a blush to his cheeks.

“Nothing bad, I promise. Though I have heard some interesting stories about your uni days.” Harry smirked.

With a groan, Louis put his face in his hands. Too many embarrassing stories Niall loved to share were swirling through his head. 

A soft chuckle was followed by a comforting arm around Louis’ shoulders. Before either one of the men continued their light conversation, their director interrupted them.

“Good morning gentlemen, I see no introductions are in order. We expect to be out of here early this afternoon if it all runs smoothly.”

The no-nonsense woman quickly explained the first shots and what Louis and Harry needed to do to make them a success. Most of the directions while they interacted in the square would be shouted to them from behind the cameras. Their director wanted as much footage as possible and did not want to stop shooting unless absolutely necessary. The first shots would be the typical, cliché jewelry commercial scenes. 

They received instructions to act natural while looking like they love each other. There was an emphasis on coming across as a loving couple.

The early morning sun cast Trafalgar Square in pink and orange haze. Morning traffic was picking up and the tourists crowded in the distance completed the casual atmosphere.

First, the cameras rolled as they slowly walked across the street from the entrance of the Charing Cross station exit on Duncannon Street and properly into the square. 

In theater and other acting gigs, Louis had time before a performance to get to know the other performers. It was important for Louis, because it showed him what chemistry they would have and how he should adjust to their stage presence. Five minutes in and Harry was already challenging the doubts Louis had about filming with someone he had met right before shooting.

Louis didn’t have to fake a smile as they made their way to one of the fountains in the square; he could feel his eyes crinkling. Keeping the direction of acting natural, Louis and Harry chatted throughout the walk.

A combination of Harry’s disarming aura and all the praise he had heard from Liam and Niall had Louis eagerly telling the gorgeous man about his own life. They started with the basics about their families and what had led them to this point in their acting career. The easiness between them had Louis forgetting cameras and the slew of crew that were tracking his every facial expression and move.

As they approached the fountain, Harry dug around in his pocket until he found a coin. Louis hadn’t read this in his script but he chose to roll with Harry’s casual offer of the pence.

Louis turned his back to the fountain and stood for a moment gazing at the coin while Harry grinned at him. He closed his eyes and tossed the coin over his shoulder, wishing he’d have more acting roles with Harry in the near future.

Before he turned around again, Harry started dragging him nearer to the fountain. They sat down on the edge and Harry pulled Louis into his side for an intimate cuddle. Louis could feel his cheeks heating up even as he reminded himself that it was all for the cameras.

A slight breeze ruffled his curls as Harry confessed he was more interested in photography than acting, but he loved both jobs too much to choose one. In return, Louis told Harry about his love for singing and how he hoped to eventually break into the musical scene on the West End.

The men were so caught up in their conversation that they no idea how much time had passed. Louis tore his gaze away from Harry’s alluring green eyes only to make eye contact with the director. She was motioning them to wrap-it-up. She then began pointing to the National Gallery where the rest of the shoot was scheduled.

Louis grabbed one of Harry’s hands and tugged him off the edge of the fountain. Harry got the hint and eventually got in step with Louis as they continued their walk to the gallery’s main entrance. The cameras tracked their backs as they happily strolled hand-and-hand toward the museum.

Before they made it all the way up the stairs, which ended in front of the gallery’s portico, they heard someone shout “cut.” A production assistant rushed up to them to explain the plan for filming in the galleries. The first bit would be the same as what they had just done in Trafalgar. The museum was still open to the public, so only one or two cameras would follow them. Notices had been posted about the filming and the crew hoped tourists would be respectful.

While the production staff went over some final details with the museum staff, Louis and Harry were free to grab something from craft services before they went back to work.

It wasn’t until the assistant left that Louis realized he was still holding Harry’s hand. He quickly pulled away in embarrassment. When he glanced at Harry, the younger main gave him a dimpled grin and then grabbed Louis’ hand again and guided him to the tent where food and drink for the shoot was set out.

Louis relaxed by the time Harry let his hand go so they could pick out something to eat. They wove their way around the significantly busier square to sit on the stairs they had just walked up for the shoot. 

Harry lectured Louis on the bag of crisps and soda he was working through while Louis teased Harry about the salad and bottle of water he chose. Louis was pleased that their casual chatter continued even without cameras present.

As with their time at the fountain, they forgot they were here to do a job. Someone from the crew fetched them to continue their shooting. Louis noticed he wasn’t the only one with rosy cheeks as they quickly walked into the National Gallery.

Filming in the museum was a unique experience. Harry and Louis pretended they were just another set of museum goers as the two cameras assigned to follow them started recording.

Louis slipped a pound into the donation box and then grabbed a gallery map for them to use. The two probably spent more time arguing over the map and what to see than was necessary, but no one in the crew stopped their banter as Louis requested to visit the dramatic works of Caravaggio and Harry petitioned to see Degas’ pieces. In the end, they chose to compromise with the Sainsbury Wing—art from 1200 to 1500.

“After all, we can always continue looking around once we wrap for the day,” Harry told Louis with a wink.

They got lost a few times on the way to their destination but all they could do in response was helplessly laugh at their inability to navigate a museum they both lived in the proximity of for several years. 

Harry tried to studiously read the labels for each painting while Louis made comments about the strange looking baby Jesuses and cherubs in the majority of the works. Eventually, Harry gave an exasperated sigh and joined Louis’ immature comments. Louis was positive the cameras got good footage of them laughing at seemingly nothing. Paired with the gentle touches each gave to the others’ waist and the light brush of a hand down an arm, Louis was confident both the director and CEO of the jewelry company would be happy with their performance.

People gave them strange stares as they strolled by with two cameramen, the director, and production assistant. The majority of people kept their distance and tried to act like nothing was out of the ordinary. 

After almost an hour of exploring a small part of the museum, the assistant director called “cut” and told them she thought they had enough material to move on to the last part of the shoot.

What the whole commercial was leading up to, the proposal, was setup in Room 43 of the National Gallery. The room was filled with later-impressionist paintings from Pissarro, Seurat, van Gogh, and other famous artists. Their muted colors and complexly simple renderings gave the room a feeling of serenity.

Usually the room was full of tourists groups taking photos and listening to tours about the works. Today, it was only open for them. 

When everything was ready, Louis and Harry took their marks in front of _Bathers at Asnières_ by George Seurat with their backs facing the main camera. Louis hoped they would only have to film this part three or four times. The director told them to turn and Louis and Harry immediately turned towards each other with matching, soft smiles. 

A few seconds passed between their heated gazes before Harry reached out and took Louis’ hands into his own. Harry stepped back from Louis so his arms were held straight out between them and then smoothly dropped down to one knee like every other engagement commercial ever filmed. Louis couldn’t suppress a giggle at the thought of being complicit in the wedding industrial complex. 

Harry gave Louis a close-lipped smile before reaching his right hand into his jacket pocket to retrieve a velvet ring box. He used his thumb to open the box to reveal a simple silver ring set with a princess cut diamond.

He was glad the crew chose not to let Louis see the ring before shooting, because his mouth fell open when the ring sparkled in the gallery’s light.

Louis’ admiration broke when he heard Harry’s slow voice say, “Will you marry me?”

The ridiculous part of the whole situation was that Louis wished the proposal was real. He’d only known the man in front of him a handful of hours, but he was already picturing a long future with him.

Despite his internal freakout, Louis followed the emotions he was feeling and let a delighted “yes” pass his lips. Louis held himself back from collapsing into Harry’s arms and instead followed the script. Harry slid the ring onto Louis’ slender finger before standing up and pulling him close.

Zips of heat gave Louis a shock as Harry’s lips met his own. Their lips fit together perfectly. It was as if they had been kissing each other for years. Louis had to fight a frustrated groan when the director yelling “cut” broke them apart.

They reshot the scene a few more times and then did a few close-up shots of the ring on Louis’ finger and a medium shot of the newly engaged couple cuddled close together before the shoot was wrapped.

Louis and Harry gave each other dorky grins as the crew cheered and complimented them on their work.

“Ready to explore the museum some more?” Harry hopefully asked Louis.

In reply, Louis intertwined his fingers with Harry’s and pulled him towards the Degas on display in the next room.

When Harry proposed a year later with the same ring in the same room in front of a group of cooing tourists, only Louis was allowed to judge him for being a perfect sap.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Come talk to me on [tumblr](http://musketrois.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> [ Tumblr Story Post](http://musketrois.tumblr.com/post/171747031837/)


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